Jeanie

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7-13-04

It just occurred to me that I have never described my BFL (Body for Life) routine, for the uninitiated.

It is a 12-week program of strength training and cardio, 3 days of each, and one free day weekly.

Upper body workout includes chest, shoulders, triceps (back of upper arm), biceps, and upper back.

Lower body includes quadriceps (front thigh) hamstrings (back thigh) calves, and abs.

Cardio is 20 minutes of intensity level training .. I do mine on the treadmill.

Monday - upper body - 35 minutes
Tuesday - cardio
Wednesday - lower body - 30 minutes
Thursday - cardio
Friday - upper body
Saturday - cardio
Sunday - free day
Monday -lower body
and so on .......

Intensity levels are 1-10, like this. Imagine 1 would be sitting on the couch, and 10 would be fleeing for your life. :)
You start with an intensity level of 5 for all exercises.

Weight lifting .. 6 sets with increasing weight levels.
12 reps with your lightest weight
10 reps with a heavier one
8 reps with a still heavier one
6 reps with the heaviest one you can lift
12 reps with one of the lighter weights
12 reps of a different exercise for the same muscle group, with the same weight as your last set of 12

Make sense?

Cardio: 20 minutes, broken down minute-by-minute. Imagine the same intensity index 1-10.

1 - level 5
2 - level 5
3 - level 6
4 - level 7
5 - level 8
6 - level 9
7 - level 6 - dial it back
8 - level 7
9 - level 8
10 - level 9
11 - level 6
12 - level 7
13 - level 8
14 - level 9
15 - level 6
16 - level 7
17 - level 8
18 - level 9
19 - level 10 - hard as you can go
20 - level 5

done! You should be toast by now!

It really works and it's so enjoyable. Less than 4 hrs a week, and it's intense! :)

7-12-04
One of the sweetest things ever happened this weekend. My mother and uncle have their annual high school reunion in July in Mississippi, and Kelsey and I run Mom over there each year. My uncle is a couple of years older than Mom (they're both in their 70s) and he told her a couple of times that he was very worried about my weight. I have been such a slow loser that nobody hardly ever notices, even if they don't see me often. Well, when we showed up at the reunion, Uncle Pete took our picture and then said to me, "Girl, you get more beautiful every time I see you."

I didn't know what to say. I thanked him and hugged his neck, and we went in and that was that. I thought.

Mom called Pete when we got back home that night, and she told me that he said to her how proud he was of me, that I had lost "so much" weight and was so pretty that I should be in beauty contests.

The old dear. He would never say all that to me, but the fact that he did say it (and it's not like him to gush with compliments!) means the world to me. Mom said, "I didn't prompt him either!" :D They are something else.


It means so much when the people in your life get behind you in something like this. No one ever told me, at my highest weight, that I was out of control. It would have been counterproductive if they had. I know they discussed it behind my back (just trying to figure me out, y'know) but no one ever was ugly or even firm to me about it. It means so much more, in light of that fact, when they now cheer me on.

Kelsey is the perfect example. We discussed it early on how he would never give me a throwaway compliment. He would wait until he actually saw a difference to point it out to me. He has, on occasion, and it just lifts me to the skies when he does. Because I know it is sincere. He tells me every morning, when I wake him up after my workout, that he is proud of me. It's so sweet. He will have this sleepy voice .. "I'm so proud of you" .. it takes my heart and I take so much strength from it.

My family rocks! :)

7-06-04 ..
I weighed this weekend, after a month, and am down another 3 lb. to 246. Hey. I spent several days over the last couple of weeks living like there's no Hell, gastronomically speaking. I'm grateful I didn't gain! I've been doing Body For Life faithfully, so maybe I'm gaining some muscle tone under all this fat. I can't express enough how great it feels to be exercising. It does make a body hungry, though. I will have to go grocery shopping so I can do those six mini-meals that I am supposed to be eating.

My dear friend Peggy surprised me today. She said that she visited my profile (WHAT she was doing on ObesityHelp is a mystery .. her skinny butt has no need to be here!) This is the email she sent me. I got her permission to post it here because it inspires me so much. :)

"I just wanted to let you know, that I read your profile yesterday.It was the most touching thing I have ever read.You have really come a long way since last year.I give you the upmost respect for all the hard work and dedication that you have achieved in the last year. You are a real what they call "TROOPER".I wished that i could have just little of your determination.Just wanted to let you know that I really thought a lot of your profile..peggy"

6-29-04 ..

I don't normally post until I have lost .. but I won't weigh again until this weekend and I have something to say, dadgumit! :D I have been in such a *funk* for the past couple of weeks. I think I need to weigh more often because this once a month thing isn't really getting it. I mean, I do like it, as I said above, because the losses seem larger, but what if there's no loss? What if there's (gasp) GAIN? Then you've lost precious time identifying the problem and correcting it. Forget that, says I. I think I will go back to weekly or at least bi-weekly weighing. This should help with the WLS blues.

Sometimes you just get so infernally *tired* of it all. Choosing the right food. Waiting for that "soft stop" sign. Resisting the urge to take that last bite. Feeling guilty after you give in. Feeling scared that you've stretched your pouch. Panicking that your band will slip because of your poor impulse control and you will lose it forever. Not being able to take medicine that WORKS (read: BC Powder) because of erosion issues. Wanting to take advantage of the new C2, which is really great, but not wanting to risk carbonation damage. Not knowing how real any of these risks really are in your case, but not wanting to take the chance.

I have found one antidote to the WLS Blues that seems to work so far: Exercise. Imagine that. My old nemesis, physical exertion .. coming to my rescue. How Darth Vader. :D I did the upper/lower BFL workout on Saturday and, as a result, couldn't move Sunday. I did upper body last night, and the cardio set today. I feel GREAT. I can't get over how a few minutes of weight training and cardio can make such a difference in how you feel. I find, after a scant week of training, that I cannot WAIT till the next session. Me. ME! How wierd is that? I urge anyone who's reading this to check out Body for Life by Bill Phillips. Anyone can do it. It can change your outlook. It ought to be prescribable for WLS blues! :D

6-22-04 .. popping in to say, how cute is my new profile? :) Thanks, Brandi!

I got to thinking of things that inspire me, and one song comes to mind .. "Drive" by Incubus. The message works for so much more than WLS.

Drive

Sometimes I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear
And I can't help but ask myself how much I let the fear take the wheel and steer
It's driven me before, it seems to have a vague
Haunting mass appeal
Lately I'm beginning to find that I should be the one behind the wheel
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there
With open arms and open eyes, yeah
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there, I'll be there
So if I decide to waiver my chance to be one of the hive
Will I choose water over wine or hold my own and drive, oh oh
It's driven me before, and it seems to be the way
That everyone else gets around
Lately, I'm beginning to find that when I drive myself, my light is found
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there
With open arms and open eyes, yeah
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there, I'll be there
Would you choose water over wine
Hold the wheel and drive
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there
With open arms and open eyes, yeah
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there, I'll be there ...

6-01-04 .. Whoo-Hoo! Down another 5 lb. I think I like weighing only once a month or so .. the loss looks much larger that way. I haven't been doing wonderful on my water, but I have been keeping up with FitDay and that helps so much. My fill is still good and tight, so I am plugging along! I would advise any pre- or newly post-op to take their measurements. I do monthly, and after taking them Sunday, I sat down to compare my loss. Here's how it stacks up.

August '03 June '04 Difference
Chin (ear to ear) 10.5" 9.75 - .75"
Neck circumference 18 17 - 1
Around Shoulders 53 48 - 5
Bust 57.5 52 - 5.5
Upper Arm 18 16.5 - 1.5
Ribs 50.5 44.75 - 5.75
Waist 49.5 44.5 - 5
Stomach 57 55 - 2
Hips 52.5 49.5 - 3
Upper Thigh 29 25 - 4
Calf 16.5 17.5 + 1
_____
32.5

5-03-04 .. down another 1 lb since last week .. hey, I may not be a raging ball o'fire, but at least the scale's moving down again. I finally got the BFL book and it is very exciting and motivating .. we have the weight bench assembled and I tried it out .. still sore after 2 days! :D I need some dumbbells and another set of iron weights, and we will be all set. Still keeping under 1200 cals; it's nearly effortless w/a good fill.

4-26-04 .. Down 2 lb! The new fill is really working for me, combined w/getting in enough water. We bought a weight bench and we are going to start Body For Life as soon as the book comes in. We are excited about it .. that plus the treadmill should really help a lot. :)

4-15-04 ..

I't nearly a week later, and I am amazed at the amount of food it takes for me to get full. So *this* is what restriction feels like. I have been trying to stay at 1200 cal per day, which was difficult with no restriction. Now it's a struggle to get all 1200 in! I must start eating my egg whites for breakfast again. I have been neglecting breakfast, and eating so little for lunch to "save" calories, since I rarely know what we are having for supper. Then, at supper, I find that I can't eat so I know I am not getting in my full 1200. While this won't hurt me over the course of a day or two, I must find ways to get more calories in without feeling that I must calorie-load in the evenings. That way lies madness. :)

4-12-04 OK, so it's been more than 2 weeks. My clinic is screwed up as a MOFO when it comes to scheduling, so we ended up going on Good Friday, of all days. There was bad news and good news .. I weighed in at 264 (fully clothed) on their scales. Hmm. After Dr. Martin and I talked, he decided to go ahead and give me a fill, no flouro, right there in the exam room. He aspirated only 1.5 cc of fill, when there should have been 2.6 cc. Well, that explains a lot! Wonder where my other 1.1 went. He filled me to 1.8, which isn't much but it is doing the trick so far. I went on an abbreviated version of post op diet (24 hrs liquid, 24 hrs soft and then solids, within reason and carefully) and today for lunch I had about half a can of tuna before I got the soft-stop sign. I heeded it (for a change) and in the 25 minutes since I stopped eating, I have been feeling more and more full. This is good! :) My soft-stop sign has changed .. last time it was a runny nose, this time it's pain between my shoulder blades. This Band is goofy, I tell ya. I weighed Sunday at church on the T.O.P.S. scale, and it read 257. Interesting. I think I'll go with that. :D